Credibility and Staff Conduct Make or Break Bank Customer Service Quality

ABSTRACT

Service quality is assessed by customers along the dimensions of staff conduct, credibility, communication, and access to teller services. Credibility and staff conduct emerge as the highest loading first-order factors. This highlights the significance of rectifying mistakes while keeping customers informed, and employing branch staff that are responsive and civilized in their conduct. Discovery of a valid second-order factor, namely, overall customer service quality, underscores the importance of providing quality service across all its dimensions. For example, if the bank fails to rectify mistakes and keep customers informed but excels in all other dimensions, its overall customer service quality can still be rated poorly.     

Measuring Service Quality in IT Services: Using Service Encounters to Elicit Quality Dimensions

ABSTRACT

Recent growth of personal computing and networked systems have resulted in Information Systems (IS) departments facing a heavy demand on their services. Based on internal marketing concepts, IS services need to use a measure of service quality for their internal customers. Studies carried out recently, suggest SERVQUAL as a possible measure of IS service quality. However, there are some issues that relate to their discriminant validity and appropriateness. A bottom-up approach to elicit service quality dimensions is explored using service encounters in a health organization. The results indicate that while the dimensions of responsiveness and assurance seem to be important, there is a need to re-look at these broad dimensions as more specific dimensions may be more appropriate for IS settings.     

Towards an Improved Understanding of Industrial Services: Quality Dimensions and Their Impact on Buyer-Seller Relationships

ABSTRACT

The rapidly growing field of services marketing has had a strong focus on consumer services. This article deals with industrial services, i.e., services provided by a manufacturing company to organizational customers. The authors suggest a triangular model of industrial service quality involving a distinction between structural, process-related, and outcome-related aspects. These three quality dimensions are shown to have strong impacts on the customer's trust, satisfaction, and commitment. The authors discuss theoretical and managerial implications of their findings.     

Customer Satisfaction with Consumption Systems

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This research examines how satisfaction toward a product and its associated services offered together by a single provider jointly affects behavioral intentions toward the provider.

Design/methodology/approach: In this study, empirical tests were conducted using longitudinal data spanning 5 years from a multinational company that offers both products and associated services as part of a consumption system to their customers.

Findings: Results show a joint congruent effect of product and services satisfaction on behavioral intentions is linear and positive. It appears that offering great service cannot compensate for less-than-adequate satisfaction toward the product. The results further highlight decreasing customer sensitivity to improvements in both sources of satisfaction and imply that focusing on too high levels of one type of satisfaction for their customers can actually be counterproductive for firms.

Research Limitations: Our model was tested using the data obtained from a single firm. Future research could test this model with data from multiple firms in various different industries and establish broader generalizability to the findings.

Practical Implications: Findings provide managers with insights on how to allocate resources across product and service spaces and to manage product and services revenues over time. Results also indicate that customer behavioral intention ratings are more weighted on product quality over the service received by them. However, mere improvements in the product cannot provide the highest desired results and therefore quality improvements in the product need to be complemented by improvements in service quality.

Originality/Value: There is a rapid emergence of the phenomenon of manufacturers providing both products and services as an integrated consumption system to their customers. While the provision of both product and service subsystems by the same firm leads to certain synergies, there are obvious costs to the development of new service capabilities and coordination with existing product capabilities. Our research intends to address this issue.     

Zone of tolerance for banks: a diagnostic model of service quality

Service quality has become an increasingly important factor for success and survival in the banking sector. Provision of high-quality service aids in meeting several requirements such as customer satisfaction and its consequent loyalty and market share, soliciting new customers, financial performance, and profitability (Cui, C.C., Lewis, B.R., & Park, W. (2003). Service quality measurement in the banking sector in South Korea. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 21(4), 191–201.). This paper presents the bank service quality measurement in its extended form. It deals with the concept of ‘zone of tolerance’ in judgments of service quality proposed by Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1993, The nature and determinants of customer expectations of service. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21(1), 1–12.). The ‘zone of tolerance’ is recognized in the service quality literature as representing a range of expectations and an area of acceptable outcomes in service interactions. The present study describes the zone of tolerance for young customers’ service expectations and determines the customer satisfaction level for banks. The study focusses only on the youth market to formulate long-term strategies because young customers tend to keep themselves up to date with latest technological developments. A conceptual model BANKZOT is presented in this study, and the results demonstrate that evaluation of services can be scaled according to different types of expectations – ‘desired' and ‘adequate’ – and that customers use these two types of expectations as a comparison standard in evaluating bank services. The findings reveal that young customers have a narrow zone of tolerance with regard to the services provided by the banks. The results with respect to gap analysis reveal that there was a shortfall in the service quality provided by the banks in the sample, with the largest gap being found in tangibles and empathy of service quality dimensions. The results of exploratory factor analysis reveal that the SERVQUAL model is found to be uni-dimensional in this study. The results, managerial implications, and future research implications are discussed in detail.     

Differences in Customers’ Online Service Satisfaction Across Cultures: The Role of Thinking Style

ABSTRACT

Online retailers constantly strive to improve customer satisfaction. However, satisfaction levels can vary significantly across cultures when customers experience mixed quality services, that is, services with a mixture of high and low quality service attributes. Based on two studies, we find that Westerners (e.g., European Americans) react more negatively than East Asians (e.g., Chinese) toward mixed quality online services. Our findings show that due to differences in thinking style, Westerners (analytic thinkers) are more likely to focus on negative service attributes than East Asians (holistic thinkers), who tend to consider the amalgam of high and low quality service attributes as an integrated whole when forming their overall perceptions and levels of satisfaction. Moreover, the results suggest that for online retailers marketing across cultures, providing superior quality on each individual service attribute may be more important to achieving satisfaction for customers from Western rather than Eastern cultures.     

The Role of Price in Consumer Quality Judgments for Professional Services

Abstract

Classifying services according to their level of search, experience and credence properties can help professional service providers better understand their customers. This research uses an experiment to study the influence of price information on consumer judgments of service quality and patronage intentions for professional services. The conceptual framework predicts that consumers believe in a price-quality relationship for search-based services but not necessarily for professional services that are high in credence properties. The study findings provide support for this proposition and suggest that professional service providers should carefully consider how consumers view their services when using price as a promotion tool.     

Nigerian Banks-Quality of Services

Abstract

The qualitative characteristics of the service are becoming increasingly important. Quality improvements can lead to increased revenues and decreased costs as a result of increased customer loyalty and the cross-selling of bank products, as loyal customers spend more with chosen banks, attract lower administration costs and are more profitable. The objective of this research is to identify customers' expectations and perceptions of bank service quality to determine the service quality level. It also aims to determine key factors in selecting a particular bank. The findings of the research suggest that the key factors in selecting a particular bank are credibility, location and range of services. The majority of respondents are dissatisfied with the quality of services provided by banks in Nigeria. The research has indicated that complicated procedures and forms, queuing time, lack of individual approach and absence of new technology are some of the factors which create dissatisfaction and lack of co-operation between firms and banks. Interestingly these results are similar to customers in developed countries as indicated by similar studies in developed countries.     

Customer Satisfaction in the Property and Casualty Automotive Insurance Industry

Abstract

This study addresses the important issue of service quality and customer satisfaction in the highly competitive property and casualty (P & C) insurance industry. Automotive dealers and related customer groups were surveyed about their perceptions of the service quality they received from their P & C insurance companies, and about their intentions to change carriers.

Strong relationships were found between intention to change the carriers and all dimensions of service quality. No statistically significant relationships were found between the length of coverage and service quality dimensions. The findings suggest that consistent delivery of high quality service is imperative to retain customers and that the customers' loyalty toward the company is short lived at best.     

Employee training and service quality in the hospitality industry

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship between employee training and service quality in the hospitality industry. The study tested the impacts of perceived access to training, perceived benefits of training and perceived support for training on service quality in the hospitality sector. Survey technique was used for the data collection. The research participants were frontline employees and their customers. The frontline employees responded to the training dimensions, while the customers’ completed the questions on service quality. One hundred and twenty useable surveys were included in this study. This study reveals a significant relationship between the employees’ perception of the benefits of training, support for training and service quality. This study offers some important management and theoretical implications.     

Determining Relationship Quality in the Development of Business-to-Business Financial Services

ABSTRACT

The quality of relationships built with customers during the New Service Development (NSD) process is a current concern of researchers in relationship marketing (and NSD) and is particularly important in a highly competitive environment characterised by rapidly changing customer needs like the one of financial services. The primary relationship analyzed in relationship marketing is the one between seller and buyer, but the focal type of relationship for new product and service development is the one termed “the knowledge relationship” (Gummesson 2002), a relationship used to create knowledge. This paper reports the results of in depth qualitative research on the factors that impact on the quality of such relationships developed between new service developers and their customers during the NSD process of business-to-business financial services. Results show that the most important factors that affect relationship quality are: communication quality of the relationship; the development of strong relationship bonds; the quality of relationship partners; a strong customer orientation in NSD based on a proactive approach of relationship partners during the NSD process, and proficiency in knowledge brokering.     

Internet service providers' service quality and its effect on customer loyalty of different usage patterns

This study attempts to investigate the dimensions of an ISP's service quality, and their effects on customer loyalty in high-tech services. Data was obtained from 1231 internet users. The analyses include segmenting ISPs' customers on the basis of their usage pattern and evaluating their perceptions of Internet service quality dimensions. Through the use of structural equation modelling and bias correct bootstrapping techniques, the study confirms that service quality dimensions can influence both attitudinal and behavioural loyalty. These effects, however, are different across different groups of ISP customers. The contribution of the present paper stems from the modelling of mediation effects and the incorporation of Internet usage that can help better explain the impact of service quality dimensions on customers' loyalty in high-tech service settings.     

Electronic Services Co-Creation Experience: Telecommunications Sector in Tunisia as an Example

Despite the intensive use of the Internet in service delivery, little attention has been paid so far to assessing the impact of the quality of electronic services on the willingness of customers to participate in the co-creation experience online. In order to determine how the consumer reacts to the adoption of new information and communication technologies and, in particular, online telecommunication services, we empirically test the influence of electronic service quality dimensions on the co-creation experience online, integrating the attitude, satisfaction, and intention of the customer. The data were collected from a sample of 263 Tunisian telecommunications customers and analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique. The results show that, even if five dimensions of the quality of the online service positively influence the attitude towards the website, all of the dimensions of the quality of e-services positively influence the e-satisfaction. The results also confirm that customers' attitude towards the website and e-satisfaction positively affect the intention to use the website, which in turn affects the willingness of clients to participate in the experience co-creation online.     

Antecedents of customer loyalty in residential energy markets: Service quality,satisfaction, trust and switching costs

A conceptual framework is proposed that analyses the effect of perceived service quality, customer satisfaction, trust in the energy provider and perceived switching costs on customer loyalty in residential energy markets. Three distinct dimensions of perceived service quality are identified: technical quality of core services, technical quality of peripheral services and service process quality (functional service quality). The proposed model is tested within the scope of a representative survey of Spanish residential energy customers. Regarding the dimensions of service quality, the results indicate significant effects only of service process quality on satisfaction and, indirectly, on customer loyalty. Loyalty effects of further variables in the model are significant.     

Predicting satisfaction and intentions to use online food delivery: What really makes a difference?

ABSTRACT

Online food delivery (OFD) is no longer a new concept for the majority of Americans. Large food delivery companies make millions in revenues and those numbers are expected to increase. This study was conducted to investigate customer intentions to use OFD services through the evaluation of satisfaction, food quality, and OFD service quality. The OFD service quality was assessed via e-SELFQUAL dimensions, and included perceived control, service convenience, customer service, and service fulfillment. The study determined that food quality, control, customer service, and service fulfillment affect customer satisfaction in online food delivery services. Customer satisfaction showed a strong positive impact on behavioral intentions to use OFD.     

Key service drivers for high-tech service brand equity: The mediating role of overall service quality and perceived value

Abstract

This study investigates how different aspects of service quality could have effects on overall perception of service quality, perceived value, and service brand equity. Based on a survey of active users of mobile telecommunications services in Taiwan, we obtained the following findings. First, we found that empathy, network quality, reliability, and assurance, but not tangibles and responsiveness, have a significant effect on service quality and value perception. Second, the effect of overall service quality on brand equity is partially mediated by perceived value. Third, overall service quality has differential mediation effects on the relationships between specific service quality dimensions and perceived value. Finally, empathy and network quality have direct effects on brand equity. For managers, our study suggests the importance of identifying key service drivers for building strong service brand for high-tech service firms. The identification of key service drivers could then enable these firms to make strategic decisions on services investments. It also demonstrates the importance of the humanisation of technology for services firms. This study is original in that it explores the path from specific services qualities to service brand equity.     

Operationalizing the Service Quality Construct

ABSTRACT

Previous research works have suggested that, for it to have practical utility, the service quality construct should not only be industry specific, but also be operational (non-global) in nature. This paper builds on that premise and utilizes a methodology suitable to produce operational measures for the service quality construct in the lodging industry. Of the four dimensions (Responsiveness, Recovery, Tangibles, and “Reliability/Trust mixed with Accessibility/Flexibility”) identified by an exploratory factor analysis, the present study finds that the first three appear to be distinct in the minds of the customers. Further confirming the above, regression analyses suggest that the overall perceived service quality in the lodging industry is significantly and positively associated with three dimensions: (1) Responsiveness, (2) Recovery, and (3) Tangibles, in that decreasing order of importance.     

Minding the competition: The drivers for multichannel service quality in fashion retailing

PurposeConsumer purchasing behaviour has changed substantially in the light of recent developments in E-Commerce. So-called ‘multichannel customers’ tend to switch retail channels during the purchasing process. In order to address changing consumer behaviours, multichannel fashion retailing companies must continue to learn how to provide excellent service to such customers. Drawing on expectation confirmation theory, this paper investigates drivers for service quality from the perspective of multichannel fashion customers.Design/methodology: This paper approaches the topic of multichannel service quality by adopting a social constructionist research paradigm, utilising an abductive approach and an embedded case study research strategy. It aims to explore the lived experiences and perspectives of individuals in the context of an evolving complex and multidimensional phenomenon. The paper seeks information-rich cases and therefore views service quality through the eyes of experienced German multichannel customers. A customer perspective helps to explain the phenomenon of multichannel service quality and helps to disclose the meaning that these customers give to it. The sample size for this research consisted of 18 in-depth interviews and two focus groups including ten focus group participants. As such, a process of methodological triangulation was followed.FindingsIntegration quality is identified as the essence of competitive advantage for multichannel retailers. The paper conceptualises integration quality as a catalyst, which plays a supporting role in reinforcing the reactions of the physical and electronic service quality in order to provide an optimised service quality experience.Originality/valueThis paper looks at retailer/customer interactions in the context of purchases of a fashion product at a retailer using different retail channels. It highlights the distinctive requirements of multiple-channel systems within which the focus should not only be to enhance and improve physical and/or electronic service quality, but must also be about the integration of the service offers of each channel. The paper contributes to the interpretation of multichannel service quality with a new concept that explains the phenomenon from the perspective of customers.     

Customer Orientation of Service Employees—Toward a Conceptual Framework of a Key Relationship Marketing Construct

Abstract

Although customer orientation is a core element of the marketing concept and is especially crucial to the concept of relationship marketing, no widely accepted conceptualization of the construct exists. In the context of service organizations, the fulfillment of customer needs and wishes by customer-contact employeescan be seen as crucial for gaining a high degree of customer orientation. This paper develops a conceptualization of service employee customer orientation which is presented as a three-dimensional construct, the interrelated dimensions being the employee's motivation to serve customers, his or her customer-oriented skills, and his or her self-perceived decision-making authority. Implications are drawn out for relationship marketing of services organizations and relationship marketing theory.     

Validating Restaurant Service Quality Dimensions

Abstract

Service-based industries such as hotels and restaurants are spending a tremendous effort to measure and improve the service quality of their businesses. Service quality is one of the key factors in achieving competitive advantages in the restaurant industry since high service quality presumably results in increased customer satisfaction, and thus increased future patronage. The purpose of this study was to examine the two generic service-quality dimensions: physical quality and staff behavior/attitude in restaurants by employing the confirmatory factor analysis approach. The findings indicated that the two-factor model of restaurant service quality was successfully validated and also, the predictive accuracy of the model was established.